Method of making a razor edge safety guard

ABSTRACT

A safety guard for the cutting edge of a razor has a multiplicity of closely spaced apart relatively thin metal filament guard members adapted to be fitted over the cutting edge of the razor or razor blade. The guard members are supported adjacent to the cutting edge of the blade, and the guard members and blade edge are moved relative to each other to bend the guard members over the cutting edge. The end portions of the guard members are then secured to the razor blade body.

United States Patent 1 Nov. 27, 1973 Michelson [54] METHOD OF MAKING ARAZOR EDGE 2,078,563 4/1937 Connolly 76/D1G. 8 UX SAFETY GUARD 2,695,448HI 1954 Cavanaugh 30/90 3,263,330 8/1966 Fcrrara 30/78 X [76] In t r:unnar Michelsm505 Sea 3,279,283 10 1966 Craig 76 104 R Ranch Dr., SantaBarbara, Calif. 3,505,734 4 1970 Iten /78 x [22] Filed: May 18, 1972Primary ExaminerChar1ie T. Moon [21] Appl' 2542571 AttorneyRobert L.Parker et a1.

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 52,503, July 6,1970, Pat No. [57] ABSTRACT A safety guard for the cutting edge 01 arazor has a 52 us. c1 29/432, 29/445, 29/475, multiplicity of CloselySpaced P 'elmively 29/505 76/DIG 8 76/104 R metal filament guard membersadapted to be fitted 51 Im. c1 B23p 11/00 Over the cutting edge 0f therazor blade- The [58] Field Of Search 29/445, 432, 475, guard membersare suppmted adjacent the cutting 29/505, 76/1316. 8 101 SM, 104 R; edgeof the blade, and the guard members and blade 30/77 78 9O edge are movedrelative to each other to bend the guard members over the cutting edge.The end por- [56] References Cited tions of the guard members are thensecured to the UNITED STATES PATENTS blade 1,226,154 5/1917 Wheelock29/509 UX 6 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures l r 1 1 l I |K92 I06 I08 H2 H4 H6[IO I00 98 Patented Nov. 27, 1973 24 FIG.

24 FIG.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Nov. 27, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. IO

METHOD OF MAKING A RAZOR EDGE SAFETY GUARD CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATEDAPPLICATION This is a division of my copending application Ser. No.52,503, filed July 6, 1970, now US. Pat. No. 3,675,325.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to razors and razorblades, and more particularly to a safety guard for the cutting edge ofa razor or a razor blade. The safety guard contemplated by thisinvention is particularly useful in reducing the chances of injury tothe skin during shaving.

In the past, razor blades have been equipped with safety guards forreducing the chances of cutting the skin during shaving. Generallyspeaking, the prior art safety guards include a series of longitudinallyspaced apart metal segments extending foward of the cutting edge of theblade for shielding the skin from the blade cutting edge during shaving.Some of the prior art safety guards have been unsatisfactory becausethey are costly to manufacture on a large scale, or because they includeguard segments with rough edge surfaces which make shavinguncomfortable. However, the chief disadvantage of the prior art safetyguards is their inability to significantly reduce the chances ofcutting. For example, many of the previous safety guard structuresfunction merely as spacers, for maintaining a vertical space between thelongitudinal blade cutting edge and the skin. These safety guards keepthe blade a slight distance away from the skin during use, but cuttingcan still result rather easily when holding the blade at certain anglesrelative to the skin, or when the blade is drawn across the face in adirection parallel to the blade cutting edge. Furthermore, some priorart safety guard segments are relatively fragile. Consequently, theseguard segments move relative to the blade cutting edge during shaving.Thus, the chances of cutting are not materially reduced, because theskin is not uniformly shielded along the length of the blade.Previously, safety guards have been stamped from sheet metal, whichresults in sharper edges and a larger width of the guard members whencompared to the guard members of this invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides a razor safety guardwhich significantly reduces the chance of injury to the skin 0 duringshaving, without significantly increasing the number of passes requiredto obtain a smooth shave.

Briefly, the razor safety guard contemplated by this invention includesa multiplicity of relatively thin metal filament guard members fittedover thecutting edge of 55 a razor. The ends of the guard members oneach side of the razor cutting edge are arranged to lie in closeproximity to the cutting edge, and are interconnected so that the guardmembers are disposed relatively close to each other and spacedsubstantially equidistantly apart along the length of the razor cuttingedge. The interconnected ends of the guard members on each side of therazor cutting edge are secured to the razor to maintain the guardmembers in fixed relation relative to the cutting edge.

65 The guard members of this invention are held in position relativelyrigidly because their ends are interconnected at points relatively closeto the razor cutting edge. As a result, movement of the guard membersrelative to each other, or to the cutting edge, during shaving issubstantially avoided. When a razor using the safety guard of thisinvention is pressed against the skin, the skin bulges between theprotruding guard members toward the cutting edge of the razor. Becauseof the relative close spacing of the guard members, the bulging skinbetween two adjacent guard members touches the cutting edge barely, ornot at all, when moderate pressure is applied by the razor against theskin. Thus, the chances of cutting the skin are substantially preventedregardless of the cutting angle of the razor, and even when the razor isdrawn across the skin in a direction parallel to the cutting edge. Thespacing between the guard members, and the thickness of the guardmembers can be varied, depending on the users skin characteristics, toproduce the desired amount of bulging of the skin between the guardmembers.

In the preferred form of the invention the guard members are made ofindividual short pieces of conventional round wire. The ends of theguard members are interconnected by an elongated mounting strip securedto each side of the blade cutting edge. Preferably, the safety guard isconstructed in flat form, with the ends of the guard members welded tothe mounting strips. The flat piece is then bent into a substantially V-shaped structure andfitted over the cutting edge of the razor. In oneform of the invention, the razor edge safety guard is permanentlysecured to the razor blade. In an alternative form of the invention, arazor blade holding device releasably clamps the razor edge safety guardto a razor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of specific embodimentsof the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan elevation of a removable razor edge safetyguard in fiat form;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the razor edge safety guard ofFIG. 1 bent into a relatively V- shaped form and adapted to be fittedover the edge of a razor;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary end elevation taken on line 33 of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of an altemative embodiment ofthe razor edge safety guard of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan elevation of an alternative embodiment ofthe razor edge safety guard of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan elevation of a nonremovable razor bladesafety guard in flat form;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of the razor safety guard of FIG.6 bent into a relatively V-shaped form and secured to the edge of arazor blade;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged end elevation taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional plan elevation taken on line 99 of FIG. 8;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are fragmentary end elevations of a razor blade and arazor blade edge safety guard at various stages of the methodcontemplated by this invention;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary end elevation of a razor blade and a razorblade safety guard illustrating an alternative form of the method;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary sectional end elevation of a conventional razorblade holder in use with a conventional razor blade equipped with therazor safety guards of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS This inventioncontemplates that the guard members hereinafter described are relativelythin in crosssection and are spaced relatively close to each other. Thisis not readily apparent from the drawings because, for clarity reasons,the drawings are not shown to scale. In particular, the guard membersare shown greatly exaggerated in size and reduced in number. Theinvention contemplates that the actual width of the guard members andthe actual spacing between these members both vary depending on thethickness of the users whiskers and the users skin characteristics. Thesmall dimensions of the invention can be appreciated by realizing thatan average whisker is only approximately 0.004 inch thick. It has beenfound that the guard members must be relatively fine to achieve a smoothshave. A practical, but not exclusive, range for the width of the guardmembers is about 0.0015 to 0.005 inch. It has also been found that asubstantial number of these guard members can be fitted over the razorcutting edge without significantly impairing the shaving efficiency, andthat such an arrangement of guard members substantially reduces thechances of cutting during the shaving operation. A practical, but notexclusive, range for the spacing of the guard members is about 0.02 to0.06 inch.

During shaving the guard members of a razor edge safety guard areoridinarily subjected to forces in a direction parallel to the bladecutting edge. The guard members contemplated by this invention have arelatively small cross-sectional area and are consequently rathersensitive to forces directed perpendicular to their length, i.e., in adirection parallel to the blade cutting edge. However, this inventioncontemplates that the ends of the guard members are rigidlyinterconnected at points in close vicinity to the cutting edge and that,in some of the embodiments of the invention, the front portions of theguard members are supported at the cutting edge. Therefore, thisconfiguration and arrangement provides sufficient strength and rigidityto withstand normal laterally directed forces occurring in a shavingoperation, unless their cross-section is chosen excessively small.

Referring to FIG. 1, a removable razor safety guard is shown in a flatform. A multiplicity of spaced apart guard members 22 are disposedparallel to each other and welded at their respective ends to a pair ofrelatively thin elongated mounting strips 24 disposed in parallelrelation to each other.

The finished razor edge safety guard is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It isobtained by bending the fiat structure, shown in FIG. 1, relativelycentrally along its length into a substantially V-shaped form as bestseen in FIG. 3. The resultant V-shaped safety guard 20 is fitted over alongitudinal cutting edge 28 of a conventional razor blade, or razor, 30(shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3).

Razor safety guard 20 is particularly suited for mass production,because each wire guard member 22 can be taken from a separate coil ofwire, with all guard members being cut from their respective coils andwelded to the mounting strips 24 simultaneously. Alternatively, guardelements 22 can be secured to mounting strips 24 by bonding, soldering,or brazing. The guard members 22 of the safety guard 20 are made ofconventional round wire. The advantage of using such a wire is that itis inexpensive, readily available, and has no sharp edges which mightpotentially injure the skin. Other wire profiles can be usedalternatively.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of a razor edge safety guard 31which is essentially the same as shown in FIG. 2, except that the guardmembers 32 are made of wire relatively triangular in cross-section withrounded corners 34. This configuration, although more expensive, notonly avoids injury to the skin, but also results in a smaller number ofwhiskers being bent instead of being cut. This reduces the number ofpasses required to achieve a smooth shave. So far it has beencontemplated that the guard members 32 are constructed frompre-manufactured triangular wire, with the mounting strips 24 being madefrom premanufactured flat strips. An alternative method of making thesame safety guard is to form conventional round wire into the triangularshape contemplated for the guard members, and into the flat shapecontemplated for the mounting strips, respectively. This is done bydeforming the initially round wires in a corresponding set of rollersdisposed in close proximity to the location where the guard members andthe mounting strips are permanently secured to each other. This methodeliminates the otherwise difficult problem of orienting the mountingstrips and the guard members about their respective longitudinal axes inrelation to each other before permanently securing them to each other. Afurther advantage is that conventional round wires are less expensiveand easier to procure than profile wires.

FIG. 4 also shows the ends of guard members 32 extending only over apart of the width of the mounting strips 24. This is advantageous whenmounting the safety guard 31 in a conventional razor blade holder 50,similar to that shown on the right side of FIG. 13, in which a portionof the mounting strips 24 would be clamped between upper blade clampingmember and lower blade clamping member 88. The guard members 32 wouldnot be clamped at all.

During use, the ends of a cutting edge occasionally may be exposed togreater mechanical forces than the central portion of the cutting edge.To reduce the chance of injury to the skin potentially inflicted bythese ends, in razor guards 20 and 31, the guard members 35 and 37,respectively, adjacent to the ends of the respective safety guards, arespaced closer to each other than are the remaining guard members.

FIG. 5 shows an alternative razor edge safety guard 36 in its flat form.It is similar to the one shown in FIG. 1, except that the guard members38 are formed from a continuous wire filament 40 bent into a square-waveconfiguration. The square-wave configuration of wire filament 40 definesat its upper and lower extremities horizontally aligned connectingmembers 42 integral with the ends of guard members 38. Guard members 38are disposed between a pair of opposing elongated mounting strips 44.The square-wave wire 40 is permanently secured to the mounting strips 44by welding, brazing, soldering, or bonding connecting members 42, or theends of guard members 38, to the mounting strips 44.

The included angle C at the apex 45 of the internal profile (see FIG. 3)of the guard members 22, 32, or 38, respectively, is smaller than theincluded angle A between the converging flanks 46 of the razor.Therefore, the difference in angles prevents contact, or interference,between the guard members 22 and the cutting edge proper 48. This avoidspotential damage to the cutting edge of the razor when the removablesafety guard is slipped onto it.

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, show that one edge 49 of the mounting strips 24extends slightly beyond the edge of the opposing mounting strip. Thisconfiguration facilitates fitting the safety guard onto the razor. Tofurther facilitate fitting the guard onto the razor, the opening B (seeFIG. 3) at the base of the V-shaped safety guard is somewhat wider thanthe thickness of the razor blade. The guard members of the safety guardare sufficiently flexible so that the mounting strips 24 of the safetyguard may be clamped against the respective faces of the razor blade bythe razor blade holding device 50 (see FIG. 13), hereinafter described,or while being permanently secured to the blade.

In a removable razor safety guard constructed for use with astraight-edge razor, the opening B is smaller than the respectivethickness of the razor (not shown). Therefore, when the safety guard isslipped on the razor, the spring force of the guard members will clampthe safety guard to the flanks of the razor.

Razor edge safety guards 20, 31, and 36 are preferably removable fromthe razor, although they can be permanently secured to the razor bybonding, soldering, or welding, if desired. Generally, the removablesafety guard is preferred for applications with razors that arere-sharpened customarily, whereas the permanently secured safety guardsare preferred for the throw-away types.

FIGS. 6 through 8 show an alternative razor safety guard 52 which isprimarily suitable for being permanently secured to a razor blade 53. Inits flat form, shown in FIG. 6, it is formed from a continuous filamentof wire 55 bent into a square-wave configuration to define amultiplicity of spaced apart parallel guard members 56 interconnected attheir ends by integral connecting members 58. The flat structure is thenbent into a V-shaped form and fitted over cutting edge 60 of blade 53.Razor safety guard 52 is then permanently secured to blade 53 by weldingconnecting members 58 to the flanks 62 of the blade cutting edge 60, orto the faces 63 of blade 53, in close proximity to the flanks 62. Theadvantage of securing connecting members 58 to blade 53 by welding isthat the safety guard can be very narrow. This saves material andfurthermore the narrow safety guard does not interfere with the clampingmembers of some razor blade holders. Alternatively,

Additional strength and rigidity is obtained by securing the front endsof the guard members to the blade cutting edge. FIGS. 8 and 9 show thefront portion 66 of each guard element 56 placed in a respective shallownotch 68 in the cutting edge 60 of blade 53. This notch effectivelyprevents lateral displacement of the front portion 66 of guard member56.

A preferred method for providing lateral support for the front ends 66of the guard members 56 contemplates using the blade edge 60 as a malebending die. This method is illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. It includesthe steps of placing the flat structure 52, shown in FIG. 6,substantially perpendicular to blade edge 60 (see FIG. 10), and thenbending it around blade cutting edge 60. The hardness of guard members56 is lower than the hardness of the blade edge 60. If the guard memberis relatively hard, and if the included angle between the flanks 62 ofthe blade cutting edge 60 is small, portions of the blade edge 60 willbreak away during bending, and a notch forms in the cutting edge 60 inwhich the inside of the front portion 66 of the guard member 56 rests.The depth of the notch can be controlled by appropriate choice of thehardness of the guard member 56 and the direction, symmetry, and leverarm of the applied bending forces.

If the included angle between the flanks 62 of the razor blade cuttingedge 60 is small, which is usually the case with conventional razorblades, and if a large bending force at a short lever arm is applied,the notches formed by this method can become so deep as to prevent guardmembers 56 from protruding a suffirazor edge safety guard 52 can besecured to blade 53 by bonding, soldering, or brazing. In an embodimentwherein the safety guard isconstructed to be bonded to the razor blade53, the guard members are lengthened (not shown), and also bonded to thefaces 63 of the razor blade, to obtain sufficient structural stength.Therefore, when mounting a razor blade equipped with such a safety guardin a razor blade holder, both the blade and the safety guard are clampedbetween the upper and lower clamping members of the razor blade holder,in a manner similar to that shown on the right side of FIG. 13.

cient distance forward of blade edge 60. To obtain a shallow notch inbladecutting edge 60, the bending is performed in two steps. The firststep of the method is illustrated in FIG. 10 in which small bendingforces F are applied to the ends of safety guard 52 in the directionsillustrated by the arrows. Because of the relatively long lever arm, theforces F required to bend the guard member are small. Consequently, theresultant force (not shown) acting on the cutting edge 60 is small. FIG.11 shows the second step of the method wherein relatively large bendingforces F are applied in close proximity to the cutting edge, anddirected substantially perpendicular to the flanks 62 of cutting edge60. This second step is necessary to obtain a snug fit between guardmembers 56 and the flanks 62 of razor blade cutting edge 60. Since theforces F nearly completely oppose each other, the resultant force actingon the cutting edge 60 again is small. Therefore, the notch forrned incutting edge 60 is rather shallow. The formation of the notch is aidedby a slightly asymmetrical application of forces F, (not shown). FIG. 8shows the final step of the method in which the safety guard 52 issecured to the razor blade 53 as described above.

FIG. 12 shows a safety guard and razor blade made by an alternativemethod for providing lateral support for guard members 70. The method isessentially the same as described above, except that it contemplatesusing a guard member having a hardness substantially lower than that ofblade edge 72. During the bending process, symmetrical bending forcesare used, as described above and shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. The result ofthis method is that no notch is formed in the cutting edge 72 of blade74. Instead, a notch 76 is formed at the inner contour of roundedsection 78 of guard member by the penetration of blade edge 72. Guardmember 70 is thereby clamped tightly to the flanks 80 of cutting edge72. The methods described for bending the safety guard 52 (see FIG. 6)also can be applied to bend the safety guards 20, 31, and 36 shownrespectively in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5.

FIG. 13 shows the razor safety guard of this invention mounted in aconventional safety razor holder 50 comprising a bottom blade clampingmember 88, a top blade clamping member 90, and an elongated upwardlyextending handle 92. The right side of FIG. 13 shows a conventionalrazor blade 94 with a removable razor safety guard 96 fitted over theblade cutting edge. Safety guard 96 includes guard members 98 secured attheir ends to mounting strips 100. Guard members 98 are held firmly infixed relation relative'to the blade cutting edge by clamping both theguard members and the mounting strips 100 between bottom clamping member88 and top clamping member 90. The left side of FIG. 13 shows aconventional razor blade 102 with a non-removable razor edge safetyguard 104 fitted over the cutting edge of the blade. Edge guard 104includes guard members 106 integral at their ends with connectingmembers 108. Razor edge safety guard 104 is permanently secured to blade102 by weldments 109 which hold connecting members 108 permanently toblade 102. Razor edge safety guard 104 is narrower in width than razoredge safety guard 96. This configuration avoids interference between therazor edge safety guard 104 and the blade clamping members 110 and 111.

In use, when the shaving apparatus shown in FIG. 13 is pressed againstthe skin surface 112, the skin bulges between guard members 106 towardthe cutting edge 103, as shown by the upwardly bulging skin surface 1 14at the left side of FIG. 13. The amount of bulging depends on theapplied pressure, and the users skin characteristics. Suitable choice ofthe size of the guard members 106 and the spacing between them can causethe skin, at moderate pressure of razor 50 against the skin, to bulgesuch an amount between guard members 106 that it barely, or not at all,touches the blade cutting edge 103. Thus the razor 50 can be drawnacross the skin with sufficient pressure applied so that whisker 116will be shaved ofi' approximately at skin surface 114. The chance ofcutting the skin during shaving is substantially prevented by the razoredge safety guard 106. The razor can be drawn across the face at variousangles relative to the skin surface with substantial pressure applied tothe face, yet the guard members prevent the blade cutting edge fromprotruding into the skin far enough to cause cutting. In the event theblade is drawn across the skin in a direction parallel to the bladecutting edge, the small guard member spacing effectively prevents theblade cutting edge from penetrating the skin.

To reduce the friction forces created when moving the razor over theskin, the guard members of the razor edge safety guard of this inventionare coated with Teflon or other suitable anti-friction material. Acoating of this type also may be applied to the flanks of the bladecutting edges in a manner well known in the art.

I claim:

1. A method for providing a razor blade cutting edge with a safety guardpermanently'secured to the razor blade, the safety guard comprising amultiplicity of elongated, relatively thin metal filament guard membersfitted over the flanks of the cutting edge and interconnected at theirends, the hardness of the guard members being lower than the hardness ofthe blade cutting edge, the method comprising the steps of:

a. supporting each guard member adjacent to the blade cutting edge in aposition wherein an intermediate portion of each guard member touchesthe blade cutting edge and each guard member is positioned substantiallyperpendicular to the blade cutting edge and to the plane of the blade;

b. moving the safety guard and the blade relative to each other to bendthe safety guard over the blade cutting edge and form lateral supportpoints between the rounded front portion of each guard member and theblade cutting edge; and

c. permanently securing the portion of the safety guard formed by theinterconnected guard members to the razor blade.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of bending theinitially flat safety guard over the cutting edge of the razor bladecomprises the substeps of bending the initially flat safety guard byexerting upon the safety guard relatively small forces actingapproximately at the edge of the safety guard in a directionsubstantially parallel to the plane of the razor blade and perpendicularto the razor blade cutting edge; and

thereafter bending of the safety guard by exerting upon the guardmembers relatively large forces acting in close proximity to the razorblade cutting edge in a direction substantially perpendicular to theflanks of the cutting edge and perpendicular to the cutting edge.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the bending step includesusing the relative hardness of the blade edge and the guard members toform a notch in the blade cutting edge at the interface between theblade cutting edge and each guard member so as to laterally support therounded front portion of the guard member.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the bending step includes thestep of using the relative hardness of the blade edge and the guardmembers to form a notch in each guard member at the interface betweenthe razor blade cutting edge and the guard member so as to clamp therounded front portion of the guard member tightly to the blade cuttingedge.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the metal filament guardmembers have a cross-sectional profile substantially triangular in shapewith rounded comer sections, and wherein each metal filament having thisprofile is obtained by deforming a metal filament initially having around cross-section by a respective set of rollers disposed in closeproximity to the location where the guard members are supported.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the metal filament guardmembers interconnected at their ends are interconnected by permanentlysecuring them to a longitudinally extending mounting strip on each sideof the blade cutting edge, the mounting strip being a flat stripobtained by deforming a metal filament initially having a roundcross-section by a respective set of rollers disposed in close proximityto the location where the guard members are permanently secured to themounting strip.

1. A method for providing a razor blade cutting edge with a safety guardpermanently secured to the razor blade, the safety guard comprising amultiplicity of elongated, relatively thin metal filament guard membersfitted over the flanks of the cutting edge and interconnected at theirends, the hardness of the guard members being lower than the hardness ofthe blade cutting edge, the method comprising the steps of: a.supporting each guard member adjacent to the blade cutting edge in aposition wherein an intermediate portion of each guard member touchesthe blade cutting edge and each guard member is positioned substantiallyperpendicular to the blade cutting edge and to the plane of the blade;b. moving the safety guard and the blade relative to each other to bendthe safety guard over the blade cutting edge and form lateral supportpoints between the rounded front portion of each guard member and theblade cutting edge; and c. permanently securing the portion of thesafety guard formed by the interconnected guard members to the razorblade.
 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of bendingthe initially flat safety guard over the cutting edge of the razor bladecomprises the substeps of bending the initially flat safety guard byexerting upon the safety guard relatively small forces actingapproximately at the edge of the safety guard in a directionsubstantially parallel to the plane of the razor blade and perpendicularto the razor blade cutting edge; and thereafter bending of the safetyguard by exerting upon the guard members relatively large forces actingin close proximity to the razor blade cutting edge in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the flanks of the cutting edge andperpendicular to the cutting edge.
 3. The method according to claim 1wherein the bending step includes using the relative hardness of theblade edge and the guard members to form a notch in the blade cuttingedge at the interface between the blade cutting edge and each guardmember so as to laterally support the rounded front portion of the guardmember.
 4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the bending stepincludes the step of using the relative hardness of the blade edge andthe guard members to form a notch in each guard member at the interfacebetween the razor blade cutting edge and the guard member so as to clampthe rounded front portion of the guard member tightly to the bladecutting edge.
 5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the metalfilament guard members have a cross-sectional profile substantiallytriangular in shape with rounded corner sections, and wherein each metalfilament having this profile is obtained by deforming a metal filamentinitially having a round cross-section by a respective set of rollersdisposed in close proximity to the location where the guard members aresupported.
 6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the metal filamentguard members interconnected at their ends are interconnected bypermanently securing them to a longitudinally extending mounting stripon each side of the blade cutting edge, the mounting strip being a flatstrip obtained by deforming a metal filament initially having a roundcross-section by a respective set of rollers disposed in close proximityto the location where the guard members are permanently secured to themounting Strip.